


Better Than Mediocre Sex

by juliepowers



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-07-18 03:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16109924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliepowers/pseuds/juliepowers
Summary: AN Andy and April meet in college AU! April is an NYU art student, and Andy just arrived on the Ron Swanson scholarship. So how do their paths cross?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA. Been in school about a month now and moved to NYC! As you can tell, my adventures here have inspired me :) thinking about making this a multi-chapter of adventures in NYC and adding other Parks characters! What do you think?

“Here you go,” said Andy as he sat down in the small amount of available space next to April on the stained couch. There were two other couples next to them that were partaking in a nice game of tonsil hockey. He handed her a plastic cup with some sort of drink in it that smelt exactly like rubbing alcohol. This could be fun.

“Thanks,” said April. Slightly yelling over the loud music. The party was in a tiny beat up New York apartment, but it was a nice escape from the dorms. Dorms sucked. They were literally what April imagined hell to be like. Sharing rooms with people you don’t know, forced social interaction, and community bathrooms. No thanks. Oh, and she couldn’t even hang up all of her posters because they were a “fire hazard”. Whatever.

“Hey, do you maybe wanna go somewhere else? It’s super hot in here, and I’m getting sweaty, heh,” said Andy as he tried his hardest to not just rip his sweaty shirt off right there.

“Uh yeah, sure,” said April as she thought of all of the possibilities of how this could go horribly wrong. Maybe being murdered by the Hudson wasn’t the worst way she could spend her Friday night.

“We could go back to my place if you want… I’m not trying to pressure you into anything at all, so don’t think that! But I have my own apartment with an AC and some beers in the fridge. We could order a pizza or something too! Oh, and there’s a rooftop which is pretty cool! It’s under construction, but I sneak up there all the time, and no one’s ever caught me.” said Andy.

“Yeah… sounds cool,” said April as Andy awkwardly stood up and led her to the front door. They threw away their drinks in the kitchen, and he said something to one of his buddies before turning around and flashing a huge grin.

“Ready?” April nodded and followed him out the door. If nothing else, at least she’d finally be in a room with less than four people at once.

 

 

This definitely wasn’t the stupidest thing April’s ever done, but that didn’t keep her from almost turning around and leaving Andy standing on the subway platform by himself.

It was only April’s second week at NYU, and so far she’d only made one friend. Well one friend and Andy. Her other friend was Orin, who was easily the smartest person she’d ever met. They were both freshman studio art majors, and had a pretty similar schedule. They shared a passion for death and ignoring everyone around them. She decided to send him a quick text to let him know what was going on in case she was, in fact, murdered. At least he would know how it happened and could maybe make sure the story was a little gorier than reality.

She met Andy for the first time in the bathroom at the party. She had seen him once before because he had been in one of her art classes for about ten minutes before realizing it wasn’t Comm 1. He was hard to miss being such a big guy, and there was something about him that made his face come up in her thoughts more than once over the past week. Now, a week later, she stumbled into the bathroom because she was nauseous and noticed that same face smoking a joint in the bathtub. He offered her a hit, and they sat in that bathtub for the better part of an hour before they made their way to that gross stained couch. When she hadn’t scared him off after an hour of talking about some of the grossest scenes in movies, she became more and more curious about this Andy dude. He was a rare type. And he was pretty hot too. What? No April stop now.

And now they were here. Walking up the stairs to a run-down apartment building on 137th street. And April was honestly excited to see where this night might take her and this overgrown child.

 

 

“Well, this is it,” said Andy unceremoniously as he held the apartment door open for April with a pizza box in his hand. They were starving and decided to pick some up on the way. It was an average-sized apartment with one bedroom, one bath, and a pretty open living space. Since it was still his first few weeks of living there, the space was pretty empty save for some furniture, a TV, and some stray boxes lying around.

“This is pretty cool,” said April as she aimlessly walked around the space. “Better than the freaking dorms.”

“Yeah I hear they’re pretty bad… well you’re welcome to come here any time! It’s not much, but at least it’s better than being stuck in a room with three other people,” Andy smiled awkwardly and walked over to the fridge to get them some beers. April blushed a little and cleared her throat.

“So how’d you get this apartment anyway? Do you have like some estranged father who’s an FBI agent in Tokyo and tries to buy your love?” Andy handed her a beer and guided her to the couch.

“Actually, my dad died when I was little, heh-“

“Fuck… I’m so sorry Andy-“

“No, really it’s okay. It happened a long time ago. But anyway, I actually got this apartment from my old boss. He’s like a father figure I guess. His name’s Ron Swanson and he works for the government, while also trying to shut down the government.”

“He sounds like my kinda guy,” said April laughing a bit and sipping her beer.

“Yeah he’s the coolest. But yeah, he gave me a job when I was in a tough spot and helped me out. I owe him everything, really. I, uh, actually used to live in a pit for a while, and he was the one that helped me get back on my feet,” Andy said and rubbed the back of his neck, obviously a little uncomfortable with the topic.

“A pit… like a hole… in the ground?” asked April.

“Oh yeah! There were rats and everything. I set up a tent at the bottom of it and lived off of carrots from the community garden.”

“That’s gross. I love it. I want to do that,” said April.

“You’re weird dude,” said Andy laughing. April felt her cheeks warm up and he continued telling his story. “Ron gave me a job as a shoe shinist at the city hall in our town. I did that for a while and then Ron started asking me about school. I dropped out of community college the first semester out of high school, and I never thought I’d go back. But he helped me look into some schools and offered to pay for my education and living expenses if it was something I really wanted. He’s awesome and has a bunch of gold hidden around Indiana so that the government doesn’t take it from him.”

“That’s brilliant,” April whispered and gestured for Andy to go on.

“So now I guess I’m here. I thought I was too old to get a degree, but I guess not! Did you know there’s no age limit to school?” Andy exclaimed and April just smiled and rolled her lips.

“So how’d you decide on Sports Management?”

”I always wanted to play football. But since that’s not working out, I thought working in the business might be just as cool.”

“Got it,” said April as she tried to come up with something else to talk about. Luckily, Andy beat her to it.

“Dude it’s freaking awesome that you do art. I’d love to see some of your stuff. I probably won’t understand it though because art is really confusing. You must be really good since you got into the school,” said Andy with his mouth full of pizza.

“Nah, I just gave the dean a few bj’s and he let me in.” Andy laughed for a solid fifteen seconds before wiping the grease off of his mouth. April might have cracked a small smile too.

“Wait, you’re not serious right? He’s freaking old!”

“There’s just something about saggy skin and man boobs that just turns me on man, I don’t know what to tell ya,” said April finishing her third piece of pizza.  
“Groooosss,” he said laughing even harder.

“Hey do you wanna go with me to get a tattoo?” asked April randomly. “I just turned 18 and my parents never let me, but I’ve wanted one for a while…”

“YES! Dude let’s go! One of my buddies is actually a tattoo artist down the street. I bet he’d do you for free if I have anything to say about it,” said Andy as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the apartment.

 

 

April already had her design in mind and the tattoo took less than an hour. She had a pretty high pain tolerance, but since some of it was around her elbow, it started to hurt a bit. Andy took notice and grabbed onto her hand and squeezed. She squeezed back grateful that he was there. Why was he so sweet?

“Does it hurt pretty bad?”

“Ehh not anymore,” April said. That was the cheesiest thing to ever come out of her mouth and she wanted to throw up. But Andy just laughed and squeezed harder.  
About thirty minutes later, the deed was done, and April finally had her own art work permanently on her arm. It was a big skull sketching with flowers coming out of it. She thought it embodied her soul, or whatever.

“And you designed that?” asked Andy, totally mesmerized by her arm. She nodded and he grabbed it to get a closer look and his touch shocked them both. He pulled away and both of them blushed.

“Hey how about I buy us some ice cream to celebrate your cool tattoo?”

“Umm yes please,” said April as she grabbed her jacket and they walked out into the cold night air.

 

 

Since it was late, most ice cream shops were closed. They found a small bodega with ice cream in the freezer section, and Andy bought them a pint each. As they were walking back, they spotted a small gated park. They both looked at each other before racing across the street. Andy went for it immediately, and clumsily scaled the fence.

“Duuude!” April whispered laughing.

“Get your butt over here!” Andy yelled. April took note that Andy had no concept of an “inside voice” and came to the conclusion that they were for sure going to get caught and arrested. On the other hand, that sounds like a great Friday night. Saturday morning? She wasn’t sure anymore.

“Here! Catch!” said April as she threw her ice cream pint over the fence, hoping Andy could catch. He caught it with ease, and April made a mental note to ask him if he ever played football. April quickly made her way over the fence. She guessed those years of softball made her more athletic than she thought she was. She hopped down and jogged over to where Andy was lying in the middle of the grass.

“What are we doing?” asked April skeptically as she stood over Andy. He responded by grabbing her wrist and pulling her down next to him. April shrieked slightly, but laid down next to him.

“Haven’t you ever heard of stargazing?” asked Andy as he stared right into her eyes. Their faces were so close and she could see every individual eyelash on his face. April responded by rolling her eyes and laying her head on his shoulders.

 

 

“That one’s called… Zelda’s Flaming Asshole,” April spoke slowly, still lying with her head on Andy’s shoulder. She knew she should be getting worried about being out so late, but she felt strangely safe with Andy. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Andy had been laughing at April renaming constellations for about an hour now. She had never had anyone find her dark humor this funny, let alone let her ramble for this long.

“Dude, you’re so funny,” Andy laughed out before he quickly turned his head and kissed her on the head. April’s mind literally went blank. Like nothing made sense to her. What was happening?

“It’s getting late,” Andy said as he checked his phone. “If you want, you can stay at my place! I don’t really think you should go back downtown by yourself this late. But like if you feel weird about it, I could pay for a cab or something-“

“No dude it’s not weird. Thanks for the offer,” April said as she got up off the grass and reached down to grab Andy’s hand and help him up.

 

 

On the walk back to his apartment, Andy timidly grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. April’s face burned while she stared straight ahead and might have squeezed his hand a bit. They got inside and Andy made a rambly speech about how he’ll sleep on the couch because April deserved to be treated like a Queen and he didn’t want to be disrespectful and blah blah blah. April quickly cut him off and said they could just share the bed.

Andy offered her some clothes and she changed in the bathroom. She took a second in the bathroom by herself to just breathe. This was a weird night that April was not anticipating. But she wasn’t mad about it at all. She checked her phone to find some texts from her mom and Orin. She decided to tell Orin what was going on so someone had tabs on her in case things went south. April was always prepared.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Andy already sitting in the bed just staring at her. She made an impulse decision to walk right over to him and kiss him hard on the mouth. They pulled away and giggled. They didn’t tear their faces apart for at least another thirty minutes.

That was definitely not the first night April had ever slept in a bed with anyone, but it was definitely the first time sleeping in a bed with someone without doing anything first. Andy kept insisting he could sleep on the floor, but April said that was stupid and not to be a moron. Turns out falling asleep wrapped in someone that’s at least semi cool’s arms could maybe even be better than mediocre sex. Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waffles, Whipped cream, and Slasher Films.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2!   
> I'm back! Comments and suggestions welcome :) Enjoy!

The next morning, April was woken up by Andy dropping a full plate of waffles on the ground. 

“SHIT,” cursed Andy as he bent down to clean them up. April groggily sat up in his bed and looked into the kitchen right as he looked up and noticed she was awake.

“April! You’re awake.” The floor waffles were forgotten as he bounded over to the bed and jumped under the covers right beside her. She chuckled as he sat up on his elbow and looked down at her. 

“Good morning,” she said. Her voice was still gravely like it always was when she woke up. Mornings were the worst. Even if it was 12:00 in the afternoon… waking up was the worst. Andy leaned down and kissed her forehead and she yawned and cuddled into his side trying to hide her face between the bed and his chest. 

“Good morning sunshine,” Andy said as April continued to groan and will herself back to sleep. He started to lightly rub her back and she moved her head to look at him. This was probably the most intimate she’d ever been with anyone. Sure, she’d had sex plenty of times, but she always made them leave right when they woke up in the morning. This was different. It felt… homey? And… domestic? April shivered at the thought, but didn’t let it stop her from continuing to smile at him. 

“Did you make me waffles?”

“Ah crap I forgot! I dropped them on the floor… and I think it’s been more than five seconds-“

“Eh, who cares. Let’s eat ‘em!” said April as she willed herself to sit up. She rubbed the gunk out of her eyes and Andy walked over to her side of the bed. Without a word, he lifted her easily out of the bed and carried her bridal style towards the kitchen. 

“What’re you doing?” April asked with a slight smile in her voice. 

“Treating you like a queen. Duh,” said Andy as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She blushed as he set her right beside the kitchen table. She could most definitely get used to this. He bent down to grab the waffles off the floor and blew on each individual one before placing it back on the plate. She was pretty sure that blowing on them wasn’t going to help get any germs off, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. It was… cute how much he cared. Ew. She hated that she thought that.

“Do you want syrup, or whipped cream, or strawberries, or peanut butter?” 

“Hmm whatever you’re having,” said April. 

“Good answer,” Andy smiled as he ran to his fridge and the pantry to get all of the items he listed. He then proceeded to use all of those ingredients on one waffle and placed it in front of her. 

“I call it Andy’s Mega Waffle Slam. One of my finest inventions.” April hesitated as he gave her a fork and looked at her expectedly. She stared at the monstrous creation for five seconds before giving Andy a small smile and digging in. 

“Holy crap dude,” she said emphasizing each syllable. “This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had,” she said looking up at him unblinking. 

“Ha-HA! Right?! Most people won’t try it because they think it’ll be disgusting. But it’s the best food ever made I think.”

“I agree,” said April as she grabbed the front of his shirt and made the impulsive decision to pull him down and kiss him. 

“Heh I can taste the peanut butter and the syrup,” Andy said laughing and blushing.

“Mhmm,” she said and pulled him down again. Maybe they could put that whipped cream to a different use later… that’s a thought for a later time though. She took a finger-full of whipped cream and wiped it on his nose as she pulled away. Andy just giggled and kissed her again so the whipped cream smeared on her face too. They smiled at each other as they pulled away. He grabbed a waffle to make for himself and April continued eating hers. 

“Hey I was thinking maybe we could go to the best pizza spot in the city and go see that new slasher movie? I mean, you probably have other things to do and I totally get it-“

“Dude yeah that sounds fun! I just have to do an art project before class on Monday, but that’ll literally take me fifteen minutes,” said April smiling at her waffles. 

“Cool. And if you don’t want to go back to the dorms yet you could always spend the night again…”

“Really? I mean, yeah. The dorms suck. Can we stop by before the movie and grab some clothes though?”

“Duh! Let’s go,” said Andy as he stuffed the rest of his waffle in his mouth and ran to the bathroom. April laughed and quickly finished her waffle and put her plate in the sink. She made her way to the bathroom and pushed the door open to see Andy with a mouth full of toothpaste. He smiled as she walked in and some toothpaste fell out of his mouth. 

“I don’t have another tooth brush, but if you don’t think it’s gross you can use mine!” Andy said. At least that’s what April thought she heard through the toothpaste, so she nodded her head nonchalantly. He immediately took the brush out of his mouth and held it in front of hers. She awkwardly opened her mouth and he freaking brushed her teeth for her. She wanted to vomit that she was letting it happen, but she couldn’t help herself. He was so intent and they laughed as he got toothpaste all over her face. They took turns spitting and raced out of the bathroom to grab their stuff and ran out the door. 

 

It took about forty minutes to get back to the dorms. April signed Andy in and prayed to Lucifer that her roommate wasn’t home. Lucy was actually really cool for a psych major, but she knew that if she saw Andy she would make a big deal of it and April didn’t want to deal with that right now. April said one last prayer as she unlocked her door and lead Andy in. Right as they walked in, Lucy walked out of the bathroom. Shit. 

“Dude where were you last night? Oh… I get it,” Lucy said with a knowing look in her eyes as she scanned over Andy and April. April quickly grabbed Lucy’s arm and dragged her into the bathroom and shut the door. 

“What the hell?” asked Lucy.

“Okay look, I know what you’re thinking. But if you want to know what’s happening I’ll tell you when I get back home tomorrow, okay? Just don’t make a big deal about it right now,” begged April as casually as possible. 

“Tomorrow? Are you staying with him AGAIN?”

“Lucy...”

“Fine. But you better tell me when you get back,” said Lucy pointing her finger threateningly at April as she opened the door. 

“Yeah whatever,” said April. 

“Hey I’m Lucy,” said Lucy as she walked up to Andy and shook his hand.

“I’m Andy!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m supposed to leave you alone now. You two have fun,” said Lucy winking at both of them. April rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed a few items of clothes and her deodorant. She yelled a quick bye to Lucy as she dragged Andy back out of the dorms.

“She seems cool.” 

April rolled her eyes and smiled at him. 

“Let’s go watch some people get their heads cut off,” she said and he followed her out of the building.

 

 

The pizza was great and the movie was laughably horrible. But it was a great night all around. Better than sitting in the dorms and seeing how big of a fire she could make in the kitchen without setting off the smoke alarm. 

They got back to the apartment and lounged on the couch for a while just talking. Andy strummed on the guitar and April made up songs about being burned at the stake. It felt strangely normal. 

After a while, Andy’s stomach growled.

“I guess that pizza wasn’t enough,” Andy laughed. 

“Yeah. I just want more waffles and whipped cream.”

Andy and April looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes and they raced to the fridge to grab the whipped cream. Andy immediately took the whipped cream and sprayed it all over April’s head and face. She quickly grabbed the can and raced him around the apartment. April had a lot of ideas as to where this night was going to go, and she couldn’t wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the weekend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Sorry this is a bit short. It's going to start picking up next chapter! Comments and suggestions welcome :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

When Monday rolled around, April couldn’t get Andy out of her mind all day. She was falling. Fast. This never happened to her. What was it about Andy? She had no   
idea, but it was something… special.

“Satan!” April was brought out of her trance by Orin painting a big black streak down the middle of her face. “I’m not going to apologize for that because I’ve been   
calling your name for at least two full minutes. 

“It’s fine. I think it’s kinda cool. Sorry my brain won’t stop thinking about Andy UGHHHH,” April whined as she painted angry strokes on her blank canvas. Orin didn’t say anything the rest of the class and just watched her paint with a small smirk on his face. He knew this Andy kid was going to be good for April. 

 

When April finally made her way back to the dorms after all of her classes, she was immediately bombarded with questions by Lucy. April knew she meant well, but once Lucy started talking she could not stop. 

“Oh my god if you don’t shut up right now I’m going to throw all of your clothes out the window. If you stop talking I’ll tell you the full story,” April said as she jumped onto her bed and threw her bag onto her desk. 

“Fine. But you better not leave anything out. You promised,” said Lucy as she jumped onto her own bed across from April. “Go.”

April proceeded to give Lucy the basic idea of what happened that weekend. She didn’t give her all the details because that was between her and Andy, and she didn’t understand why girls always felt like they had to know everything about each other. But she gave her the bare minimum that she knew would stop Lucy’s incessant questions. 

“Whoa. Dude it sounds like you’re in loveeee,” teased Lucy. 

“Shut up. I’m done talking to you,” said April as she started to make her way to the bathroom.

“No wait! One more question. Did you or did you not have sex? You had to have, I mean you spent two nights there.” April hesitated before she walked quickly back around the corner to where the beds were.

“Yes,” she said and turned right around to walk back to the bathroom.

“Was it good?” April groaned before she turned the corner again. This was going to be the last question she answered or she was going to murder Lucy.

“Yes. It was the best sex I’ve ever had,” and then added, “and there was whipped cream involved.”

“WHAT?” screamed Lucy as she followed April to the bathroom. April slammed the door in Lucy’s face. Lucy started pounding on the door and yelling out more questions.

“You can’t just end the conversation like that dude! I need to know!” April let Lucy pound as she smiled to herself and turned the shower on. Is this why girls liked talking about their sex lives?

 

 

“Dude your phone’s been chiming for like five minutes nonstop,” said Lucy as April came back into the room after her shower. April jogged over to her phone and saw a string of messages from Andy and a few from her mom and Orin. She quickly opened Andy’s and smiled as she read message after message about his day. The last one read: “Also I miss you. Come back. I made extra waffles…” April quickly responded smiling. 

“Oh my god April you got it bad…” said Lucy as she took in April’s smirk.

“Shut up,” said April trying to wipe the smirk off of her face to no avail. 

“What did he say?”

“He wants me to spend the night again. He made more waffles,” April said chucking. 

“Dude go!”

“No I don’t want to get used to it,” April said without thinking before she spoke.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Ugh just… I don’t even know if he likes me that much and I don’t want to get used to it and then have him stop talking to me,” April rushed out. 

“Oh my god. You’re scared of getting hurt. You really like him don’t you?” April remained silent, but her face gave her away. Her damn face that she couldn’t control. 

“Hey, if he fucking hurts you, Orin and I will kick his ass. Actually, I’ll kick his ass and Orin will haunt his apartment.” April smiled and Lucy continued, “Actually…” Lucy got up from her bed and ran towards April and grabbed her phone. 

“Dude! Give me my phone back!” But it was too late. Lucy smiled as she ran away from April with her phone to her ear. 

“Hey,” said Lucy into the phone. She stood on top of the radiator and held on to the curtain rod so April couldn’t get to her. “It’s Lucy.” April could faintly hear Andy’s confused greeting. “I just want to remind you that if you ever hurt April, I will take her collection of knives that she keeps under her pillow and stab you a thousand times in your sleep.” April had no idea that Lucy knew about those. But that wasn’t important right now. What was important was that Lucy was making her look like an immature clingy child. 

“Wait really? Why don’t you ask her right now? Here she is.” Lucy smiled as she handed April her phone back. April grabbed it and shoved Lucy off the radiator. She knew what was coming. He was going to tell her she was crazy and that he never wanted to see her again. At least it was happening before she was too heavily involved… April placed the phone to her ear hesitantly. 

“Hey…” 

“April! Hey I think you should come over right now.” Oh no he wanted to break the news to her and laugh at her in person. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Nah, I think I have a project due tomorrow-”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Andy yelled over April’s lame excuses. Whoa. She was not expecting that. She glanced over at Lucy who was smiling. 

“Uhhh really?”

“Yeah man! Sorry I shouldn’t have said man… umm yeah girl… no that’s stupid too. Ugh, anyway yeah I really like you and I was going to ask you if you came over tonight, but Lucy made it sound like you needed a little convincing-“

“Yeah umm sorry about that. Yeah I’ll totally do that thing… be… uhh your girlfriend that is.”

“Whoa that’s awesome! HaHA!”

“Okay I’m coming over.” She could hear his “yes!” as she hung up on him and started packing her clothes. 

“For that, I deserve to hear the whole whipped cream story,” said Lucy as she laid back on her pillow, satisfied. April rolled her eyes. 

“Fine. When I come back. Maybe,” April said as non-committal as she could. She was packed and headed for the door.

“You owe me!” yelled Lucy. April paused and walked slowly back to Lucy’s bed. 

“Thank you,” mumbled April and ran out the door as quickly as she could. She could hear Lucy laughing as she pressed the call button for the elevator. April’s phone chimed and she saw a “you’re welcome” message from Lucy. She rolled her eyes and put her phone in her back pocket. She guessed Lucy wasn’t so bad. 

 

 

April hated that it took so long to get to Andy’s from the dorms. She took the stupid crowded subway and glared at everyone that made eye contact with her to make time go faster. It didn’t work. When she finally got to the stop, she pushed past everyone and walked at top speed up the stairs and down the two blocks it took to get to his place. She buzzed up and waited what felt like ten minutes for him to buzz her in. It was probably fifteen seconds, but she had too much pent up energy to just wait by the door. April pushed the elevator call button persistently until the elevator finally came and she was on the home stretch. Finally at his door, she took a second to breathe and comb her fingers through her hair before knocking. As soon as she knocked the door flew open and her face was met with another face as Andy kissed her hard. They stumbled into the living room giggling.

“Hi girlfriend,” Andy said as he continued to basically eat her face. April couldn’t complain though.

“Ew stop,” April said giggling. But he did stop, and that was the opposite of what she really wanted. She forgot how literally he took everything. She giggled and pulled him back down. “No I’m kidding. Please continue.” He smiled and happily obliged.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of time has passed and Andy and April are feeling a lot of feelings :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI AGAIN!   
> Finally, another chapter! I'm having a lot of fun writing this, but I'm not sure where I'm going with it yet... I have a few ideas, but if anyone has any suggestions of what they'd like to see, let me know! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading :)

April looked at Andy from her place on her tiny dorm room bed. She was laying down with her feet in his lap as he studied hard for his nutrition midterm. Her midterms were all projects that she had already turned in, so she was able to enjoy watching her boyfriend make cute faces as he tried to focus. He was alternating between reading the text book and having April quiz him with note cards. 

She assumed most girls would be bored watching their boyfriends study. She was honestly shocked that she wasn’t currently spending her time thinking about the top five best ways to die. But no, Andy was way more interesting. 

Every time she looked at him she got a weird feeling in her stomach. She assumed that’s what most people called butterflies, but that was lame and she refused to call them that. Butterflies were gross, and not in a good way. And this feeling in her stomach was definitely a good gross. The way the light from her shitty dorm room window lit Andy’s face as he concentrated was her favorite and made her feel too many things. Why did he even like her? She was weird and guarded and hated everyone. He was goofy and open and loved everything on this godforsaken earth. Or should she say galaxy, as Andy would put it. They should hate each other. But she definitely didn’t hate him, and she didn’t think he hated her either. For that she thanked the devil and all of his evil apprentices. 

“April? Babe are you okay?” April’s eyes adjusted to focus and she saw Andy almost on top of her trying to get her attention. She didn’t know why he was there all of a sudden, but she definitely wasn’t mad about it. 

“Sorry babe, what’s up?” 

“Babe what’s going on? You looked really spaced out there for a minute. But I thought you were staring right at me so I tried to talk to you, but I guess you weren’t staring at me and then I got scared that you died with your eyes open or something-“

“Dude no I’m fine. Sorry, I guess I was staring at you… I was just thinking about stuff,” said April blushing. 

“Oooh what kind of stuff?” said Andy completely obliviously. April rolled her eyes at him. 

“Nothing! I guess I was just thinking about how I don’t really hate you and how you’re really cute when you’re trying to concentrate,” April hurried out before covering her face with the pillow next to her. Andy quickly moved himself completely on top of her and softly lifted the pillow away from her face. The first thing April saw was Andy’s gentle smile as he threw the pillow across the room. 

“Babe you’re so weird. You’re the best. I love you,” said Andy as he chuckled. WHAT? HOW WAS HE BEING SO NONCHALANT ABOUT THIS? NO GUY HAD EVER SPOKEN THOSE WORDS TO HER. All of a sudden all the memories from the first time she saw him up until thirty seconds ago flooded into her brain. Holy SHIT. She loved him too. What the fuck was happening right now. 

“You don’t have to say it back if you don’t want to. But I was going to tell you anyway, and you were being strangely sweet so I thought-“

“Babe, shut up,” April said laughing as she put her hand over his mouth. His eyes widened and he stopped talking immediately, which made April giggle even more.   
“I… love you too,” April rushed out because she wasn’t sure if she could get those words out otherwise. At least, not without having a panic attack. Andy’s smile stretched beyond her small hand that covered his mouth. He pulled her hand away and crushed his mouth onto hers. They were both smiling like idiots as they made out. It was like it was their first time all over again. 

“Whoaaaa sorry. I didn’t know you guys were here…” Lucy said chuckling and covering her eyes. 

“You can uncover your eyes,” April said blushing as she pushed Andy away from her face. “Sorry…”

“What were you guys so passionately making out about?” asked Lucy curiously. It obviously wasn’t a normal make out session.

“I told April I loved her and she said it back!” Andy said with enthusiasm that normally would’ve made April barf. But since it was him she just rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Heyo! The big “L” word, huh? You two are growing up so quickly,” Lucy said through fake tears. April threw a pillow at her and laughed. 

“Hey, this is big news you guys! Alright I’m gonna go study in the living room. You guys just keep doing what you were doing… if you’re gonna have sex just holler and I’ll get out asap,” said Lucy as she took her stuff into the other room.

“She’s so cool,” Andy said. April just smiled and brought his head back down to hers. They had a lot more making out to do. 

 

 

 

“Andy I can’t just spend every night at your place! My parents are paying for my dorm and it’s a lot of money, so I should probably use it-“ April said from her spot between his legs as he kept her warm by hugging her from behind. April tried to be reasonable with him, but it was so hard when he was so damn fun to kiss and cuddle with. EWWW did she just think that? She needed to get ahold of herself fast before she officially turned into all the girls she hated. This whole “love” thing was changing her.

“But babe your parents don’t have to know you aren’t here. Plus I’m sure Lucy likes being in the dorm by herself! More time for Tom to come over, am I right Lucy?” Andy yelled into the small living room where Lucy was currently trying to study for her psych midterms.

“Shut up Andy!” Lucy walked to the doorway sending daggers at Andy and blushing. 

“What? You can’t tell me you guys aren’t together. He’s here all the time and all you guys do is flirt,” argued Andy as he played with April’s hands. 

“Fine. It is nice to get to hang out with him alone since he has four stupid ass roommates. BUT I love April and I don’t want her to leave me because then they’d give me another roommate who would probably be super lame and own Uggs.” April smiled a small smile at Lucy who smiled back. No matter how much April hated people, Lucy was cool. 

“See Andy? Lucy is one of the few people I tolerate, and I can’t let her be subjected to such cruelty.” Andy rolled his eyes but squeezed April tighter. She felt herself blush so she looked down quickly so no one would notice. Of course Lucy did though, and winked at April as she walked back through the doorway to grab her stuff off of the table and bring it back to their room.

“Speaking of Tom, we’re going to see that new Clint Eastwood movie if you guys want to come!” said Lucy as she put her stuff away. 

“Ew he looks so old in that preview!” Andy said and laughed out of disgust.

“That’s exactly why we’re seeing it,” said Lucy rolling her eyes. 

“What do you say babe? You wanna go see that movie?”

“I think I’d rather stay here and watch all the Death Canoe’s…?” April asked Andy with pleading eyes. She glanced at Lucy who looked relieved. April knew Lucy wanted to spend time alone with Tom. 

“That’s an even better idea babe! You’re so smart. Sorry Lucy… Death Canoe is calling.”

“It’s alright, Death Canoe is a classic,” said Lucy silently thanking April. April just smiled back. 

“Hey, what if the four of us go to that party at the creepy house this weekend? I think it’s like a pre Halloween thing. We can pre-game at my place!” said Andy excitedly. 

“Yup. I love that idea,” said Lucy.

“Yes,” said April quickly. She and Lucy were always down for alcohol and creepy houses. 

“Cool. I’m gonna head out. I’m meeting Tom at his dorm. Have fun with Death Canoe! Andy, you can spend the night if you can fit in the bed with April and if you guys don’t want to go to your apartment. I don’t mind.”

“Score! What do you think babe?”

“Yes,” said April thinking about being forced to spend all night that close to her comfortable and warm boyfriend. She shot a quick silent thank you at Lucy as Andy started to pepper her neck with kisses. April giggled and Lucy laughed at the foreign noise coming out of April.

“Alright bye. Don’t have sex on my bed!” said Lucy. 

“We will!” said April right as Lucy shut the door. Right as the door shut April turned around and attacked Andy with kisses. This night was going to turn out just fine.

 

 

 

In the middle of Death Canoe 3, April felt Andy’s breathing slow and noticed he wasn’t joining her in making stupid comments anymore. She turned slowly in his arms to face him and noticed he was fast asleep. She grinned and reached up to play with his hair that was falling into his eyes. She didn’t want to wake him, but she couldn’t help herself. Sure enough she saw Andy’s eyes flutter open. Whoops. She was caught. 

“Hey babe. Did I fall asleep? Sorry, I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was,” Andy quickly apologized.

“Dude, don’t be sorry. I’m tired too,” April smiled and reached back up to continue playing with his hair. Apparently she couldn’t get enough. “Hey, if you want to go home you can. This bed is tiny and probably isn’t very comfortable for you,” said April. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the weekend curled up against Andy on this tiny bed, but she knew it couldn’t be as fun for him as it was for her. He was a giant compared to her. 

“I think I’d rather stay right here. I mean if it’s cool with you? I was kinda looking forward to being forced to sleep so close to you honestly. That might be weird for me to say and I don’t want to be a creep so I can just go if-“

“Stay. Please,” said April with a hint of red in her cheeks. She was so happy he said that. Andy smiled and through a pillow to turn the lights off before wrapping his arms back around her. 

“I love you April.”

“Love ya too,” April mumbled quietly.

 

 

 

The next morning April woke up to a message from Lucy. The message was a picture that April opened to find it was of her and Andy smooshed together on her tiny ass dorm room bed. Lucy must have taken it before she left in the morning. April instinctively rolled her eyes and sent a text back saying she was going to kill her. After she looked at the picture again, a warm feeling spread through her chest and she quickly sent Lucy a thank you. She also may have set that picture as her lock screen. But no one would ever find out about that. She spent the rest of the morning curled against Andy and listening to him breathe. Yeah. She loved him a whole lot.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April, Andy, Lucy, and Tom go to a haunted house!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!  
> I'm back! Sorry this is a Halloween themed chapter on Christmas Eve... oh well, Halloween is better than Christmas andyway ;) hoping to get a special Christmas gift up for you guys tomorrow!   
> Please leave kudos and comment if you feel like it :)

“What shmime-time is it?” April asked from her spot on Andy’s kitchen counter. She was already drunk and they hadn’t even left Andy’s to go to the real party yet. This was going to be interesting. 

“I can’t hear you over the whipped cream,” yelled Lucy, laughing, as Tom spray copious amounts whipped cream into her mouth and all over her face. April laughed. Ever since Andy and she started dating there was always an abundance of whipped cream in the house, thank GOD. 

“You know what would be a great product? Flavored whipped cream, AM I RIGHT?” slurred Tom, as he sprayed some whipped cream in his own mouth. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s already a thing, bud,” said Andy from his spot in between April’s legs leaning against the kitchen counter. He was substantially less drunk then the rest of them so that he could “watch out for everyone”. Part of April wanted him to get wasted, but the other part of her loved him even more for caring so much. She slid her arms around his waist from behind and kissed his shoulder. 

“We should try different flavors sometime, babe,” April whispered so that only he could hear. His face lit up and he nodded furiously. She laughed and planted a wet kiss on the back of his neck. It was disgusting how much she loved him. 

“I’m going to create a line of alcoholic flavored whipped creams that are 70 proof. It’ll get you drunker quicker than beer, and you can eat it off someone else!” said Tom, obviously ignoring Andy’s knowledge of the subject. If this was possible, Tom might be on to something though…

“Oh my god that’s genius,” said Lucy as she pulled him down by his shirt collar. 

“You really think so-?” He was cut off by Lucy kissing him. Yeah, they were a whole lot more physical when they were drunk. April knew it was just a matter of time before they made things official. Maybe tonight was finally the night. 

“Ewwww,” April yelled as she covered Andy’s eyes. 

“Shut up. I’ve had to watch you guys make out more than I’d like to admit. You deserve this,” said Lucy laughing and pulling Tom back to her. 

“She’s got a point,” whispered Andy. He turned around and helped her off the counter so they could give the kids some privacy. He led her to his bed and crash-landed into it. She was right after him, and immediately snuggled into his body.

“I figure we give them some privacy since we don’t have to leave for a while still,” he said playing with her hair. 

“You know what we should do?” April slurred as her eyes tried their hardest to focus on Andy’s round face. 

“What babe?” Andy asked excitedly.

“Let’s go get pizza,” April whispered… or yelled. She really couldn’t tell anymore. Everything was loud and fuzzy. 

“Babe. That’s the best idea ever. You sure you’re okay to walk a few blocks?” Andy asked as he got off the bed to help her up. She stumbled quite a few times before she was successfully standing. Still, with the help of Andy. 

“As long as you’re okay to let me lean on you the whole time…” she said honestly. 

“Babe, I would carry you the whole way there and back if that would make you happy,” he said as he kissed her nose. 

 

 

 

“Number twenty-four!” said the nice pizza man as he placed the box on the counter. The couple decided to be nice and get a whole pizza instead of just slices. Maybe it would help Lucy and Tom sober up a bit…

“Thanks man,” said Andy as he got up to get the pizza. April stumbled behind him trying her hardest to walk in a straight line. 

“Hey, do you wanna be our uncle? You make the best pizza and you kinda look like my uncle Fred,” slurred April. The man chuckled slightly. He kinda reminded Andy of his old boss, Ron. 

“Sure. Next time you come, I’ll give you the family discount,” the guy smiled and told them to have a good night. April whooped excitedly at the prospect of cheaper pizza and Andy smiled at her drunken state.

 

 

 

The walk back to the apartment was pretty eventful as Andy tried to figure out the best way to carry April and the pizza. Somehow he ended up successful by getting April onto his back first and then handing her the pizza to carry. Shockingly, she didn’t drop it. 

“Please don’t be having sex,” Andy called out as him and April stumbled back into his apartment with their eyes closed. “We have pizza!”

“PIZZA!” yelled Lucy and Tom getting up from the kitchen floor. It seemed as if they didn’t move an inch from where they left them. The two grabbed the box and set the box on the kitchen floor before devouring two slices. April joined clumsily joined them.

“I want to make love to this pizza on a red carpet because it deserves the best of the best,” said Tom seriously. The two girls silently agreed. Andy watched them with amusement. 

“You guys know there is a kitchen table less than two feet away from you,” said Andy laughing at the sight of three “grown-ups” in front of him inhaling pizza on the floor of the kitchen in party clothes. 

“This is more fun,” said Lucy.

“Plus too drunk to get back up,” said April as she pulled Andy down to join them on the floor. 

“Whatever you say babe,” he said ad kissed her on the head before grabbing a slice. 

“Okay, so Tommy T wants to know the game plan for the night. He needs to schedule when he’s going to moisturize,” said Tom. April rolled her eyes and Lucy shoved him. 

“I was thinking we would leave here when we’re done and head over to the party. It’ll take us a while to get there,” said Andy with his mouth full. The other three cheered. 

 

 

 

It turns out baby-sitting three drunk adults was harder than Andy thought it might be. The pizza helped them sober up quite a bit, but then Tom brought out a small bottle of some disgusting smelling alcohol and a shot glass out of Lucy’s purse. Yeah, that soberness was not going to last long. And for some reason, the brisk night air made them crazier? Andy didn’t know a lot, but he wondered if there was some scientific reason for that... whatever, now was not the time to think about that. He had to make sure no one stubbed their toe or threw up over a stranger. 

“Hey hey hey,” Andy forced out quickly as if he was talking to a child. He ran over to April who was picking a cigarette up off the ground and trying to put it in her mouth.

 

“What? It’s free,” she said pouting as he gently took the cigarette out of her hands and threw it away in the nearest trash can. 

“Yes, but there are lots and lots of germs on it,” he said as if he were talking to a preschooler. That seemed to satisfy April enough because she immediately started giggling. Then Andy noticed what she was looking at. Lucy and Tom were now laying on the sidewalk making out. Lucy was full on straddling him and if Andy didn’t stop it, he wasn’t sure anything would. 

“Hey guys… we’re around the corner from the subway and we should probably get there so we don’t miss the next train,” said Andy softly as he knelt beside them. The two reluctantly got up and ran around the corner. Andy prayed that they were running straight to the subway station. He didn’t want to spend the rest of the night looking for the drunk couple. He looked behind him and April was looking at him full on smiling. 

“What’s up babe?” He said as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn’t smile like this for nothing. 

“I’m just convinced that you’re a literal angel. Like sent from Heaven or something. We’re being idiots and you haven’t lost your shit once,” said April, getting slightly emotional, as she rubbed her hands over his chest and peppered everywhere she could reach with kisses. 

“Don’t cry babe! I’m having so much fun. You guys are the most fun,” he said sincerely. April sniffled and looked up at him.

“Okay… love you,” she said. Andy smiled brightly. 

“Love you too. Now let’s go make sure they’re waiting for the right train,” said Andy as he kissed her softly on the lips and led her to the subway station. 

 

 

 

After a few mishaps (mainly Lucy and April getting on the train without Tom and Andy because Tom was busy throwing up in a trashcan) they finally made it to the old house for the party. And it was perfect. April was convinced the house was actually haunted, and the rest of them weren’t against the idea either. The whole apartment complex was pretty gross and creepy, but when they got to the penthouse the party was being held in it was like walking into a horror movie. 

“Oh. My. God,” said Lucy as she took in her surroundings. They couldn’t tell if the place was decorated, or if this is what it looked like all the time. It was dark and dingy and there were cobwebs everywhere. Expensive china lined the cabinets and there were probably twenty chandeliers each as creepy and old as the next. There was a horror movie soundtrack playing loudly in the room (mostly noises like howling and chainsaws). People were milling about dressed up like they were ghosts at a 1920’s party. April had never felt more at home. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve had this dream before,” she whispered to Andy. “I want to live here. I’m 100% sure I’m going to leave here being followed by a ghost. This is the best Halloween party ever.”

“Let’s get drunker and get haunted!” yelled Tom. The rest of them agreed and followed him to the bar. 

After the first trip to the bar, the night gets fuzzy…

 

Random fuzzy memories of the night:

 

“My husband and I divorced, you see, and left me to take care of the estate all by myself. Imagine me, a helpless widow-“

“April what are you talking about?” asked Andy. He was so confused. 

“Ahhhh my husband’s brother, Malcom Snakehole, is here to take away all the jewels from me! No, NO Malcom. You will not take advantage of me, Janet Snakehole!” April screamed and tipped over some cups on the table in front of her before running away. 

“Uhh… she’s kidding,” Andy said before running after her. His semi-drunk brain had no idea what was going on. Was this some kind of role play? Was April into that? 

“April?! I mean, Janet?” yelled Andy. April came out of no-where and pulled him into a closet full of fur coats and spider webs. 

“Shut up, Malcom. My husband can’t know about our affair.” Said April (Janet?) before smacking him across the face and then smothering his face and neck with kisses. 

 

 

 

April sat and watched giddily while a beautiful flapper ghost came up behind Tom. Maybe no one else could see her? Maybe she was the only one chosen to see them? Oh my god. She was a wizard. 

“AHH!” screamed Tom as the ghost blew cigarette smoke in his ear.

“Hey bitch! What are you doing to my boyfriend?” yelled Lucy. April and Andy immediately looked at each other smiling.

“B-boyfriend?” asked Tom smiling brightly.

“Yeah dude. What did you think we’ve been doing?” asked a very drunk Lucy. “Get away from him!” She yelled one more time before chasing the lady ghost out of the room. And that is the story of how Lucy got into a fight with a ghost. 

 

 

 

The four sat in an unoccupied dimly lit room playing never have I ever (the drinking version, of course) and passing around a joint. Was this the best idea? Probably not. Was it fun? Yes. 

“Never have I ever slept with a person of the same sex,” said Tom. April and Lucy both paused for a minute before taking a shot.

“Wait you two? That’s an image I didn’t know I needed,” said Tom dreamily. 

“Not together, you perv,” said Lucy as she shoved Tom. Hm. Andy was going to have to ask April about that later. Did she like girls? Wasn’t she dating him? His drunk brain was confused. April noticed Andy thinking too hard and thought she might know what he was thinking about so she decided to kiss him hard on the lips. “Guess it doesn’t matter,” thought Andy as she continued kissing him. She loved him and he knew it. 

All of a sudden the candles blew out and they heard screaming. The fire place in the corner burst into flames and they saw a figure behind the glass trying to get out. 

“What the hell?!” yelled Lucy as Tom screamed and ran behind the couch. Just as soon as it had begun, the fire stopped and the candles were lit again. April walked over to the fire place and saw no trace of a fire or of a person. She started giggling uncontrollably. 

“I told you guys this place was really haunted! I’m staying here forever,” said April still laughing. The other three were pretty freaked out, so Andy decided it was time to call it a night. Luckily, April was drunk enough that he just bribed her with leftover pizza and she was sold. He let her say goodbye to the so-called ghosts and they left the party of the year. 

 

 

 

Finally, the two got Tom and Lucy back to her room. Andy basically had to carry both of them to the bed, and maneuvered them so there was enough room for both of them without one of them falling off. He took both of their shoes off and covered them with a blanket. April drunkenly thought that Andy would be a good dad, but the sober part of her quickly pushed that thought away. Too soon, April. She was just sober enough to remember to take a picture of the two smushed together on the bed and sent it to Lucy. For all she knew, it was blurry as hell but there was nothing she could do about that. Andy laughed and convinced her to go back to his place tonight. He knew she was going to feel awful the next morning and wanted to take care of her. And he had leftover pizza. She definitely couldn’t say no to that.

 

 

 

Five minutes into the subway ride, April fell asleep on Andy’s shoulder. He looked down and wrapped her in his arms so she didn’t fall when the subway stopped. He couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky he was to have her and how just two months ago he was lonely in this huge city. He had this feeling in his bones that she was it for him. He knew it was too early to tell and blah blah blah, but he knew. He knew that she would think that was gross (and not in a good way) so he kept it to himself. For now. He smiled and picked her up bridal style when the subway stopped at his stop. She stirred a bit and wrapped her arms around his neck, but didn’t open her eyes. 

 

 

 

He finally got to the apartment and somehow opened the door with April in his arms. He laid her gently on the bed and took her shoes off. He slowly and carefully unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off so she was just in her sweater and underwear. He put a few blankets over her, because he knew she was a cold sleeper, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He quietly cleaned up the pizza and bottles from the kitchen floor and then headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he looked up from splashing water on his face, April was standing in the doorway of the bathroom staring at him. He smiled and she silently came over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind as he continued washing his face and brushing his teeth. When he was done, April reached for the towel behind her and made him lean down. She gently wiped his face clean of toothpaste and water while he stared at hers concentrating. He took the towel from her and threw it over the edge of the bathtub before grabbing her by the waist and kissing her hard on the mouth. She melted against him and rubbed her hand up and down his scruff as he gently pressed her against the wall. His hands ended up on her bare stomach under her sweater and she shivered against the cold. He chuckled and placed soft kisses down her neck and back up to her cheeks, her nose, and another long one on her lips. He pulled away and she pouted. He laughed and wrapped her in his arms. He would hug April forever if he could. 

“Let’s go to sleep. The whipped cream can wait for tomorrow,” he said. He felt her smile against his chest and nod. He lifted her head up by the chin and kissed her one more time before letting her jump in his arms as he carried her back to the bed. It was a long night, and he had a feeling they would both be asleep within minutes. 

“Thank you,” she whispered after they were both tucked in bed, Andy’s arms wrapped around her. He squeezed her tighter and buried his face in her hair. Yeah, she was it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April's family comes to visit for Christmas! But... April hasn't exactly told them about him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> It's a little late for a Christmas chapter... but that's okay! The more Christmas the better, am I right?  
> Also, it's a bit long and messy, but I felt like if I didn't post it now I was just going to keep working on it forever. So, here it is...  
> A big thanks to Opti for the overall idea for this chapter :)

“Zuzu!” Oh no… April faced away as long as she could before facing the music. “The music” being her parents coming into the greeting area of the airport. Her parents and Natalie were visiting for Christmas because April refused to come home. She told them it was because Lucy was staying in the dorms and she didn’t want to leave her by herself for the holidays. In reality, Lucy was going to Tom’s parents’ in New Jersey… she just didn’t want to leave Andy for a month to go back to her dumb, middle of no-where, hometown. He had to stay because he was taking some classes over break so that he could hopefully graduate in three years. So really, she had no choice but to stay with him. She couldn’t leave him alone on his favorite holiday. 

“Babe it’s gonna be okay,” whispered Andy into her ear right before her parents smothered her in a huge hug. Andy knew she was nervous for them to meet him, since she hadn’t exactly kept them completely up to date about her love life. Last she told them anything about him, they had gone on like two dates… so they had some catching up to do. Andy insisted on coming with her to meet them at the airport so he could help keep the pressure off of her. Ugh she loved him so much. It was disgusting. 

“Zuzu, it’s so good to see you,” said her mom, trying not to cry.

“We missed you so much sweet pea. Merry Christmas Eve!” said her dad finally letting go.

“Missed you guys too,” forced out April honestly. 

“Hey,” said Natalie. April greeted her the same and they shared a small smile. 

“It’s so great to be back together as a family again,” said her mom, still holding back tears. It was sweet. April just couldn’t deal with people’s emotions. 

“Uhh yeah,” April replied. Andy was standing awkwardly a few feet away from the sweet scene smiling at them. 

“Honey, who’s this?” asked her mom, somewhat knowingly. 

“Uhh this is Andy,” said April, her voice pitching up a bit. It always did this when she was nervous. 

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” said Andy enthusiastically as he brought her parents in for a friendly hug. 

“Oh!” Her mom said as she accepted the hug just as enthusiastically as it was given. 

“Yeah uhhh, we’ve been dating for like four months now so… sorry for not telling you sooner,” she said slowly.

“What?! April why didn’t you tell us? This is great news!” said her mom with her dad agreeing. 

“Is it? He seems kinda lame,” said Natalie. April glared at her and their mom reprimanded her. Natalie just smirked through it all. Andy seemed confused, but went along with it anyway. Oh Andy.

“Yeah, well he’s not. He’s the best,” said April as she rubbed Andy’s scruff. 

“Aww babe. You’re the best,” said Andy before kissing her. There was a chorus of “aw’s” and April immediately detached herself from Andy and stepped a solid foot away from him and looked at the ground. Andy and her parents chuckled. She couldn’t believe she was blushing. Ugh why can’t she just love her boyfriend in peace?

“Well, honey, I think it’s really sweet that you have such a nice and might I say handsome boyfriend,” said her mom. April and Natalie rolled their eyes. Andy’s eyes lit up and he giggled.

“I think your mom has a crush on me,” whispered Andy into April’s ear. 

“Ew mom, gross. Uhh, do you guys want to head to your hotel? Andy offered his place for dinner, if you guys want to see it. We could just order pizza and hang out and then you guys can go far away to your hotel to sleep,” said April only half-joking. She wasn’t quite ready to tell her parents that she was sleeping at Andy’s at least four out of seven nights a week. She was pretty sure they still thought she was a virgin, even though that ship had sailed a long while ago. She was hoping she could get them to leave at a reasonable hour so they wouldn’t question why she wasn’t leaving with them. Well… she would soon find out. 

“Yeah you guys should totally come over! I’ve been told that I’m the best at ordering pizza,” said Andy. Her parents laughed and she smiled up at him. He sure knew how to charm old people. He looked down at her and gave her a quick wink. She couldn’t help but smile. She felt her parents’ eyes on them and tried her hardest not to blush. 

“So are we gonna go or what?” asked Natalie. April silently thanked her with a quick roll of her eyes. She didn’t want to be here anymore either. 

 

 

 

After another hour and a half full of public transportation and hotel rooms, they were all finally back to Andy’s apartment. The pizza was ordered and they shared it around the coffee table in the living room while catching up and getting to know Andy. Andy was charming their asses off, and she was beginning to wonder why she never told them about him in the first place.

“Oh, and if you guys want to have Christmas here, you’re totally welcome to! I don’t want to intrude, but it’s bigger than April’s dorm room and having Christmas in a hotel room sounds really lame. So as long as you’re okay with me being here then you’re welcome to it. Oh! I could make you guys my famous waffle sundae: Christmas Edition! I can’t tell you what makes the Christmas Edition special, but you’ll find out if you come here on Christmas!” said Andy excitedly. Her parents were delighted. How was she of all people dating the most thoughtful man in the world? 

“Andy, we would love to spend Christmas with you! I wish April would’ve told us you guys were so serious because I would’ve gotten you something. Maybe I can find something special before tomorrow,” her mom said and sent him a wink. April rolled her eyes. 

“Oh my god, really?!” He said excitedly. No matter how mature and thoughtful Andy could be, he was still just a big kid. April loved it. She placed her hand on his thigh and thought about how she really hoped he liked the gift she got him. She didn’t have money, so she had to get creative and she thought she did a really good job. But she would soon find out. He scooted closer to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him. 

“Of course Andy! It’s not Christmas without at least some kind of gift,” said her dad smiling. Andy giggled excitedly and April sent her parents a grateful smile. No matter how much they drove her nuts, they were the best. 

 

 

 

“Hey Zuzu,” said her mom cornering her in the kitchen. Oh no. Now she was going to get lectured for not telling her about Andy and how it looks like things are moving really quickly and how she needed to be safe and blah blah blah. Dammit.

“You picked a good one,” said her mom pulling her in for a hug. April didn’t fight it and sighed in relief. She actually might have hugged her back a little bit. 

“Thanks mom,” she said smiling and she pulled away. “Yeah, I don’t know how I got so lucky,” April said completely honestly. 

“Oh, honey. You deserve it,” said her mom. April turned away slightly just as her eyes started tearing up. Don’t. Show. Weakness. Ludgate. She took a deep breath and turned back to her mom and pulled her in for another hug. Her mom pulled away and kissed her on the forehead. 

“Let’s get back out there, shall we?” April nodded and followed her mom back to the living area. 

“So Andy, what do your folks do?” April faintly heard her dad ask. Oh no. She quickened her pace back to the couch and snuggled close to Andy and grabbed his hand. His palm was already sweating as he brought her hand to his lap and played with her fingers for comfort.

“Oh, uh my mom is a nurse. She’s super cool and works nights so she can take care of my brothers. My dad uhh… died a while ago. He was sick for a while before passing so it wasn’t really a surprise,” said Andy swallowing hard. April squeezed his hand and gently caressed it with her thumb. He gave her a grateful smile and squeezed back. She knew this was still pretty hard for him to talk about. Hell, they had only slightly talked about it a few times. He didn’t bring it up often. 

“Oh, Andy I’m so sorry. You don’t have to talk about it. I’m sure he was a great man,” said her dad. 

“Sorry,” said Natalie barely audibly. 

“Yeah, thanks. It’s okay! He was and I miss him but… I know he feels a helluva a lot better now,” he said slightly laughing. He released his death grip on her hand but still held it in his lap. 

“I’m sure he does honey,” said her mom sympathetically. “Well, we should probably start heading out if we wanna be back here bright and early for Christmas morning!”

“Yeah, I’m beat. It’s been a long day,” her dad said yawning. Natalie just rolled her eyes and followed her parents to the door. 

“Andy, honey, thank you for being such a wonderful host! We’ll get here tomorrow around nine. How does that sound?” asked her mom. 

“Perfect,” Andy said as April’s parents both hugged him goodbye. 

“April do you take the same subway home as us?” asked her mom. 

“Uh, no,” said April slowly. Shit. 

“Oh okay! Well do you wanna walk down with us so you don’t have to walk by yourself?” asked her mom. What was with the interrogation? 

“Uh, no,” said April even slower as she tried to think of an excuse. She heard Natalie chuckle knowingly. April turned and glared at her. She wasn’t helping at all. She could tell Andy was trying to think of a way to help her, but was also coming up empty. 

“Uh mom-“started April, but was quickly cut off by Natalie.

“Let’s go, I’m tired. April’s perfectly capable of walking to the subway station by herself when she leaves. Or she’ll get mugged which would also be pretty cool,” said Natalie. April thanked the devil himself for Natalie and her way of getting out of uncomfortable situations. 

“You’re right Nat. Goodnight kids. Let us know when you’re home safe Zuzu,” said her dad while dragging her mom out.

“Uh, I will dad,” said April. Perfect. She could just wait an hour and then text them that she was home. They’d never know the difference. 

“Bye kids,” said her mom. As her parents walked away, April grabbed Natalie and gave her the world’s quickest hug before saying goodnight. Natalie just mumbled a “you’re welcome, dumbass,” under her breath before following her parents out. Phew. At least that was put off another night. April knew it would most likely come out eventually, but tonight was not that night, and for that she was thankful. 

“So… do you think they liked me?” asked Andy seriously after the door shut.

“Dude, duh! They love you more than they love me now. Trust me,” said April as she wrapped him in a tight hug. “Now I finally get you to myself,” she said mischievously. “What do you say we make this an all-nighter and we open those Christmas flavored whipped cream cans for a taste?” she said before pulling him down for a kiss. She had been waiting all day to kiss him like this, and it tasted so good. She wasn’t used to having to hold back her affection for him. She didn’t like it. 

“Hell yeah,” Andy said dreamily. They raced to the kitchen to find the hidden cans of Christmas whipped cream.

 

 

 

The all-nighter turned into an almost all-nighter. The whipped cream cans were almost completely empty by the time they fell asleep at around 4 am due to complete exhaustion. Blissful exhaustion, but exhaustion nonetheless. They were jolted awake by a knock at the door. 

“Mmmm what time is it?” asked Andy, too tired and comfortable to detach from April and grab his phone off of his dresser. 

“Umm 9:08,” said April closing her eyes again. “Oh my god,” they both said at the same time. They quickly jumped out of bed and started putting on whatever clothes they could find. 

“Andy how am I supposed to convince them I went home last night when I’m wearing your pajamas and only have the clothes I was wearing yesterday?” asked April panicking and searching for her underwear, which she was worried would be found by someone other than herself. April hated herself for not thinking through this more. 

“Hey hey hey. Babe, look at me,” said Andy as he grabbed her by the waist to stop her frantic searching. “Why can’t we just be honest with them? I really don’t think they’re going to be mad at you. I know it’s weird and scary, but it’s Christmas! No one gets mad on Christmas,” said Andy as he soothingly rubbed her sides with his thumbs. 

“Andy, I don’t know-“said April, but was cut off by more knocking. 

“Look, we don’t have to outright tell them, but if they ask questions let’s just be honest, okay? I can do most of the talking if you want,” said Andy dragging her to the door. 

“Fine, but if they disown me, you’re figuring out how to pay for my education,” she grumbled but followed him. She was nervous, but he was right. No better time than now. They stopped right in front of the door and simultaneously took a deep breath to prepare themselves. “Hey... thanks,” said April smiling at him as she reached for the door. 

“Zuzu! You’re already here! What took you guys so long? I was beginning to think we had the wrong apartment,” said her mom laughing and leading the rest of the Ludgate’s into Andy’s apartment. No one said anything about her current outfit or the fact that they both looked like they had just been run over by a truck or two. So far, so good. 

“Yeah, sorry. We were… uhh mixing up waffles,” April said quickly. Andy nodded along keeping quiet. She really hoped they didn’t go into the kitchen and notice there was no waffle batter anywhere in sight. Wow, she was an idiot. They passed right by the kitchen and went straight for the living room noticing nothing. Thank GOD.

“Oh how sweet. I can’t wait to try Andy’s Christmas waffles,” said her mom sneaking in a wink at Andy. “So honey, what time did you wake up? You must have gotten here early if you guys were already making waffles!” questioned her mom. Was she onto her? Shit shit shit. This was it. She was never going to get away with it now. She decided to trust her ability to form a smooth lie and try anyway. 

“Oh yeah. I couldn’t sleep well last night… guess I was just too excited for Christmas,” April fake chuckled. Ew. “I left my place around 7:30 and got here about 30 minutes ago,” April said as coolly as she could. Please work please work please work. 

“Wow you must be tired!” said her dad. Oh my god… did they buy it? She quickly glanced at Natalie who said nothing, but April knew she was not buying any of it. As long as Natalie kept her mouth shut, she might be able to keep up this façade forever. Or at least until her and Andy got married or something. Whoa. Marriage? What was she talking about? Shut up Ludgate. 

“Heh, yeah. But I’ll survive! What do you guys say? Waffles? Andy and I will go finish those right now!” said April. 

“Do you guys want help?” asked her mom, starting toward the kitchen.

“NO! I mean, uh, stay here! Relax. They’ll be ready in like fifteen minutes,” said Andy as she pushed Andy into the kitchen. Her heart was racing. 

“Do you think they bought that?” April asked him. Her brain was working on overdrive and she needed validation that that charade had worked. 

“Yeah babe! I can’t believe it, but I think it did,” said Andy just as confused as she was. “So… waffles?” he asked excitedly. She nodded and pulled him down for a long kiss. She needed to relieve all the tension that just built up in her body somehow. 

“Waffles!” she said pulling away and quickly grabbing the ingredients. This was going to be a long day. 

 

 

 

 

April and Natalie were somehow the only ones who wanted seconds on waffles, and raced each other to the kitchen to get the last few. April heard Natalie gasp and chuckle, both a rare noise coming from Nat, so she turned around to see what she was looking at. “Fuck fuck fuck,” April whispered as she saw Natalie staring at the blender where April’s underwear happened to be strewn clumsily across the top. How they got there? She had no recollection. Natalie quickly grabbed the underwear and ran to the living room. April had no choice but to chase her into the room where Andy and her parents were. 

“Ooh tag! I wanna play!” yelled Andy as April gave him a pointed look before looking at the item crumpled in Natalie’s hand. April saw Andy’s eyes widen with realization as he reached out to tag April. “You’re it!” he yelled before running towards Natalie so he could sheepdog her into Andy’s room. Sometimes Andy shocked April with his brain and ability to think on his feet. As soon as they were in the room April slammed the door shut and stood in front of it so no one could get out. The three of them stood at opposite corners of the room as if they were in a shoot-off. “Okay… just hand over the underwear and no one gets hurt,” said April slowly. April and Andy slowly made their way closer to Natalie. 

“Just tell mom and dad that you two are fucking and basically live together! If you don’t, I’m going to take these out there right now and tell them myself,” said Natalie. Shit. 

“Nat this isn’t your choice to make. Mom and dad don’t have to know everything, and they definitely don’t need to know that they’re paying for a dorm that I barely even sleep in,” said April frustrated with her sister. The sisters stared at each other while Andy waited in anticipation to see what happened. 

Nothing. That’s what happened. They literally just kept staring at each other, neither one backing down. Andy decided he should intervene. “Babe, I think she’s right… they don’t need to know everything, but I think you would feel a whole lot better if we just told them that you sleep here sometimes and last night was one of those times. I mean, I don’t think you need to go into detail about the six pack of whipped cream and-“

“Oh my god Andy shut up,” said April turning red. Natalie just raised her eyebrow slightly and looked at her sister. 

“Wait. New deal: I give you these back if you tell me the story about the six pack of whipped cream,” said Natalie, knowing it would make her sister uncomfortable. 

“Eww why are you such a perv?” asked April quickly snatching her underwear out of Nat’s hands. 

“C’mon babe! Who wouldn’t want to hear that story?” Andy asked laughing as he and Natalie high fived. 

“Oh my god you guys. Fine! You’re right. Let’s go tell mom and dad I guess,” mumbled April. 

“Babe, it’s not gonna be that bad. Plus I’ll be there the whole time to back you up. I’ll even kick them out of my house if they yell at you. I’ll protect you no matter what. I love you,” said Andy seriously. April and Natalie both rolled their eyes. 

“Yeah April, I really don’t think they’re going to care… I’m just not gonna cover for your ass anymore. And I think you’ll feel better too,” said Natalie as apathetically as possible. “But I guess I’m sorry for making it a big deal,” mumbled Natalie rolling her eyes. April new her sister was just looking out for her. Which made it annoying but also sweet. Ugh. 

“Sorry too,” mumbled April. Good. Now that was over. Now it was time to confront the parents.

“Well… I guess we should go back out there,” said April not moving an inch. Andy and Natalie looked at each other and each grabbed one of April’s arm and dragged her out the bedroom door. 

“Hey parents, April has something she wants to tell you,” said Natalie carelessly. “You’re welcome,” she said stone-faced as she lounged on the chair in the corner of the room. 

“Um,” Andy cleared his throat and started. “Mr. and Mrs. April Ludgate… we wanted to tell you-“

“I lied to you earlier. I actually spent the night here last night and didn’t go home. I spend the night at least twice a week, but I’m an adult and I don’t think that should matter because I love him and I can do whatever I want, but I am sorry that I don’t spend every night at the dorms because I know you pay a lot of money for it. Andy tried spending the night there, but the bed is so small and he’s so tall and-“ April rushed out and was thankful to be cut off by her dad before spilling unnecessary details. Sometimes when she was nervous she couldn’t stop talking once she started because her brain worked too quickly and she lost track of what she was saying. 

“Honey honey calm down,” said her dad laughing a bit. “We don’t care that you spent the night here. We’re just glad that he’s such a nice young man who treats you so well!”

“He does,” said April quickly. She was still processing this. Andy was smiling as he put her arm around her. 

“Don’t be afraid to tell us things, okay?” said her dad. “We love you and we’re glad that you’re happy. That’s all we could ever want. Right honey?” he asked addressing her mom. Her mom was quiet for a second. Uh-oh.

“Yes, of course,” she said finally. “Just… make sure you’re being safe and taking all the precautions. Are you on birth control-“

“Oh my god mom yes. We’re totally completely safe. Please stop talking about it,” said April covering her ears and closing her eyes. 

“Okay fine sweetie,” her mom said laughing. “Don’t ever be afraid to talk to us, okay?”

“Yeah okay,” April mumbled. Andy smiled at her parents and kissed April on the head. 

“So… how about presents?” asked Andy hopefully. The Ludgate’s laughed and agreed as they got up to get the present ready. April breathed a sigh of relief and buried herself into Andy’s side to escape for a moment. Andy put his arms around her and squeezed hard. He always knew how to make April smile. 

“Proud of you babe. I love you,” Andy whispered in her hear. His hot breath tickled her ear and she pulled away laughing. She looked up at him and put her arms around his neck. 

“Love ya too,” she said before reaching up on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his lips. 

 

 

 

Presents were passed out and everyone was happy and ready to relax. Andy put on his favorite Christmas movie, The Grinch, and everyone was strewn about the room enjoying doing nothing. 

“Okay Andy… are you ready for your gift?” whispered April somewhat nervously from her place on Andy’s lap in the corner of the couch. She didn’t want to draw attention to them because she hated people watching her give gifts. And receive them for that matter. She just hated the whole process. Andy’s eyes lit up and all of a sudden she wasn’t that nervous anymore. 

“Aw babe. Duh!” Andy laughed which caused April to giggle as she got up and reached behind the large TV stand to pull out a large carefully wrapped package. Andy’s eyes widened. “How did you get that there without me noticing?” he said shocked at her stealth and at the size of the package. 

“Remember that day I came here for dinner after finals? I was just lucky that you were napping and I snuck in and hid it before I woke you up,” April said as she lugged the gift over to him. It was a bitch to get on and off the subway with, not to mention the four floor walk-up. It wasn’t that it was heavy, it was just big and awkward to carry. He better freaking love this. April placed the gift in front of him before she sat next to him on the couch. He grabbed ahold of it gingerly, before looking at April for approval.

“Oh my god. Rip it open weirdo,” she said laughing. He did as he was told and tore the wrapping off. He pulled out two canvases and picked one of them up to look at it carefully. Earlier in the year, Andy kept complaining to her that his apartment didn’t feel like a home because the walls were so bare. Both of her gifts to him were hopefully going to help that. The one he picked up was April’s initial idea for his gift. It was a painting of his hometown’s city hall that she did. He always talked about working there and how he loved all the people he met there. So, she made Andy show her a picture of it without telling him why and she later sent herself that picture while he was in the bathroom. She copied it to the best of her ability, while also putting her own flare into it by making it a bit cartoon-y so that it would fit in with the few posters Andy already had hanging in his apartment. He gasped when he picked it up and stared at it for a solid minute before putting it down and picking up the other one. April wanted so badly for him to say something, but she knew how slowly he processed things sometimes, so she gave him the time. The next one was April’s favorite. It was actually her final project for the semester which she never let him see. Her teacher gave them the assignment to paint the best representation of love they could come up with. Of course, her mind immediately went to Andy and her relationship with him and how they balanced each other so perfectly. She decided to re-create one of her favorite pictures of them. The picture was from a slightly drunk self-timing photo shoot they did in his living room one day. He set up the camera to take a bunch of pictures and they just partied in front of the lens for a while. It captured them perfectly. Andy was doing a weird dance move, having the time of his life while April looked at him and held his hand while jumping up and down. The picture was timed perfectly so that Andy looked crazy and April was completely still on the ground just looking at him like she always did. To make it more personal, she added a few objects around the room that were inspired by memories and their favorite things like: whipped cream, a guitar, a Death Canoe movie poster, and even the small picture of Andy’s dad that he had sitting on his mantle. Her teacher made her explain the meaning of it all, and he loved it. She even got an A in the class. When Orin saw it, he even teared up a bit before nodding slightly and walking away. She just hoped Andy liked it as much as her teacher and Orin did. Andy still hadn’t said anything and she was starting to worry he hated them or something. Shit. She needed to fix this. 

“Sorry it’s nothing big, I didn’t really have any money but I wanted to get you something personal that no one else could get you. That was dumb, I should’ve just gotten you that Reggie Wayne jersey. Ugh I’m sorry babe-“she was cut off by Andy shushing her. 

“April I-“he paused for a second to come up with more words, and April noticed that he was tearing up. She really didn’t expect this reaction at all. She scooted as close to him as she could without sitting in his lap and kissed his shoulder before gently placing her head there. She was normally awkward dealing with emotional people, but when it came to Andy it was easy. She guessed that was just a part of loving someone as much as she loved him. 

Her parents and Natalie noticed the intimate moment that was unfolding and all dispersed; her parents to the kitchen to “clean up a bit” and Natalie to the bathroom because “this is weird”. April rolled her eyes but was thankful to have Andy to herself for a few minutes. She watched as Andy leaned both paintings carefully against the couch before facing her and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. April let herself melt into his embrace for a moment before he lifted her chin so he could kiss her. It lasted a little too long for being in the presence of her whole family and she hoped they were busy and not being pervs and watching. She let go of those thoughts and let herself enjoy the moment and just be relieved that he seemed to love the gift. And kissing him wasn’t so bad either. Not a second later, Natalie opened the bathroom door and made a gagging noise before hurrying to the kitchen so she didn’t have to watch the “disgusting” PDA. Andy and April chuckled and backed away from each other a slightly. Andy slid his hands from April’s face down her arms and to her hands to take them in his. She couldn’t help but blush a bit while he stared at her. She would never get used to him looking at her like he did. Even Lucy commented on it once. On how he looked like a “love sick panda bear” when he looked at her. Lucy had a great way with words. 

“April this is the most awesome gift anyone has ever gotten ever. I’m not kidding,” he said when she chuckled slightly at his over-exaggeration. “This is the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever been given. Thank you. So much. Babe, I love you. I hope you know that,” said Andy. This might be the most serious she’d ever seen him, so she decided she should probably be serious too.

“Yeah… I do know that. You show it to me every day. And I know that I don’t always show you, so I was hoping that maybe this proves it to you? Cus you deserve to know, man,” She said while looking at absolutely everything else except for his face. She couldn’t help but add that last part. “Serious” and “emotions” weren’t exactly her forte. She thought she did okay this time, though. Sometimes she wished she could shut her brain up for a while so she could tell him everything she felt for him without her second guessing everything she wanted to say. 

“It definitely does babe. And you show me every d  
ay too. You might not see it that way, but I do,” he said before giving her one last short kiss. “Okay, now can I give you your gift?”

“Uhhh yeah,” April said nervously. She hated receiving gifts and having to open them in front of people. She felt like she never reacted to them like she should and people thought she hated what they gave her. It wasn’t true, but she just wasn’t good at showing how she felt about things. 

He went into his bedroom and came out with a few wrapped items and a card. He set them in front of her and gave her the go-ahead to open them. She awkwardly grabbed the long and skinny box first. She carefully took the paper off and saw that it was an easel. Not just a crappy Walmart easel either. It was one of those nice ones that had the drawer and spots for pencils and paint and everything you could imagine. April was shocked. 

“I know you’ve wanted one for a while but that it wouldn’t fit in your dorm. So, I thought maybe you could keep it here? That way you don’t have to worry about finding space in one of the classrooms when your projects are due. I could clean out that corner by the window in my room so you could have some natural light or whatever? I think that’s important in art?” said Andy rambling. April just laughed and nodded. She leaned over to him and hugged him tightly around the neck. “Oh wait! Open the rest of them first before you thank me,” he said winking at her. She rolled her eyes but obliged. She wasn’t really sure how he could top this though.  
He specifically told her to open the card last, so next was the second box. 

Now the card. She wasn’t sure what would make a card so special, but she guessed he had his reasoning. Then she opened it… 

The “card” ended up being handwritten on a piece of printer paper. As she unfolded it, a smaller piece of paper fell onto the floor. She picked the paper off the floor and realized it was a check. Confused, she looked closer and saw the “For:” line said “tattoo” in Andy’s scribble handwriting. She gasped and quickly looked up at him. “You were so excited for the tattoo you designed, and I knew it would take a while for you to save up the money because of school and everything, so I thought I would find a way to get it for you,” he said smiling. “How…?” she asked. She’d seen Andy’s bank account numbers, and with rent and food and everything there was no way he could afford to pay for this too. “Oh… I just took a shift at the front desk in the sports building. They needed someone to cover some while a kid was in the hospital, so I took it and used that money. I just worked when you were in class and I wasn’t so you didn’t find out. Sorry for not telling you, but I wanted it to be a surprise,” he said a bit worriedly. 

“Andy don’t be sorry! This is literally the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me,” said April tearing up a bit. “I don’t even know what to say… thank you,” she said and hugged him again, but tighter. Andy hugged her back. “Wait! You have to read the letter,” he said blushing a bit. She nodded and searched around for where it went. She found it on the floor by her foot and picked it up. As she started reading she noticed it was formatted strangely. “Is this… a song?” she asked looking at him. “Uh yeah, heh. I wrote it for you after Halloween. But I thought I should wait and give it to you later. Do you wanna hear it?” he asked nervously.  
“Um duh,” said April. Andy smiled and pulled April off of her feet and toward his room. “Umm hey,” he said peeking his head into the kitchen, “I have one more gift for April but it’s in my bedroom. We’ll be right back!” he told her family. 

“Ew are you guys gonna go have sex?” asked Natalie feigning disgust.

“Ugh nooo Natalie. Oh my god,” said April turning red as Andy laughed and dragged her into his room. As soon as he shut the door, he lead April to the bed and sat her down before turning around and grabbing his guitar from the corner of the room. He pulled a random stool out from his closet and sat it in front of her. He sat down and handed her the letter before strumming the first chord. 

She switched between reading along and watching Andy play and sing. It was nothing short of magic. The words he wrote were perfect and… there were just no words to describe being sung a song that was wrote for you completely. 

 

Well. She didn’t have to worry about not reacting big enough. She felt like a big baby for crying, but it was just the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her and she couldn’t help it. When Andy noticed she was crying, he gently put his guitar on the ground and rushed to kneel in front of her. She opened her legs a bit so he could fit between them and hug her around the middle. She immediately weaved her hands in his hair and kissed him on his head. “Andy… I-I don’t even know what to say. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me… thank you,” she said quietly. He looked her dead in the eye and said, “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life with you April Ludgate. Just you watch. I love you.” She smiled the biggest smile her face had ever smiled and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and kissed him hard on the mouth. He slowly stood so he could be on her level and brought his hands to her face to wipe the tears from under her eyes. He pulled away and looked at her with that twinkle in his eye, and kissed her again. “We should probably get out there before Natalie starts to assume things,” he said a bit disappointedly. “We’ll finish this later,” she said smiling, but also completely seriously. She kissed him one last time before he laced their fingers together and lead her back to the couch, where her parents and Natalie were watching Home Alone. 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was filled with watching movies and eating more waffles than any of them had ever consumed. At the end of the day, they made plans for the next day and her family left knowing she was staying there, and it made April feel really good. Secrets sucked. Lying sucked. Unless it was for fun and not out of necessity. April was actually kind of excited for the rest of her family’s stay now…

April and Andy spent the rest of the night lying in bed and watching Die Hard. Lots of making out. Lots of cuddling. Lots of weird conversations about space, flamingos, and their future. At the end of the night they both lied there and thought that they couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. Neither of them voiced it, but it was true. 

“Hey Andy?” asked April. He opened his eyes and awoke from his almost-slumber. “Yeah babe?” he asked smiling. He scooted closer to her and placed his arm around her stomach as he played with her hair. 

“I love you. A lot,” she said as she played with the curls on the back of his neck. 

“I love you too. Merry Christmas. Best Christmas ever,” Andy said seriously as he kissed her before yawning and cuddling into her. April smiled and they both fell asleep wondering how they could ever top this Christmas. They could do it. They could do anything.


End file.
